


The Importance of Duty

by sheepybaa



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst and Feels, Canon Compliant, F/M, Hurt No Comfort, Possibly Unrequited Love, Rated For Violence, Unhappy Ending, Unrequited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-07-07 19:56:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15915174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheepybaa/pseuds/sheepybaa
Summary: Mipha is not accustomed to getting what she wants.Some princesses never get their prince.  Not all stories have a happy ending.





	The Importance of Duty

Mipha is not accustomed to getting what she wants. 

And that, she finds, is alright. She is a princess, after all: she has a greater duty to her people, to the Domain, to the many souls who live and breathe throughout Hyrule, and to all those who rely upon the many waterways that flow within it. There are burdens therein that must be borne, sacrifices which are inherent, and of course it must be known she bears them willingly. Great power always comes with an equally great price. 

Accordingly, Mipha has always known, since she was very little, that her responsibilities must come before her happiness. Perhaps there was a time she once desired to join the other children in play, a time when she wistfully watched them frolic outside the windows of her classrooms, when she was still small, but it was not to be. Mipha let that dream be long ago, as she has many others, and as always, she finds herself all the more at peace for it. It is wise to recognize the limits one's duty places upon oneself. 

So when she sees Link one day on his return to the Domain, shining and grown and golden and altogether wonderful, and she _wants_ , Mipha knows immediately: 

She will never have him. 

When the Princess Zelda visits the Domain, Mipha finds she is cut of a different cloth. The Princess is young, untried, and still so painfully, painfully angry. Mipha can see her railing against her destiny with every twitch of her delicate fingers, with the way each polite, mannerly expression strains at the corners of her mouth. 

And so Mipha accepts the crown's offer, because the rage and bitterness she sees burning away Zelda's spirit makes Mipha think perhaps someone should help the Princess of Hyrule understand what it means to bear the burdens of duty, even if the girl's father cannot. 

Mipha, for her part, does not resent her father. She has never really felt poorly towards him. He is a kind man and a good king, and she has learned much of what she knows of leadership through his fine example. Like him, she bears the burdens of her station gladly, and does not complain, no matter the cost. 

After all, Mipha knows only too well that there is no other choice. She will not see this weight passed to her beloved Sidon, for he is young, and sweet, and meant for so much more than duty, for more than sacrifice and worry and pain. Such things are hers to carry, and hers alone. 

She begins her work on the armor more out of fantasy than out of any real, concrete thought. She does not intend for anything to actually come of it (for even then, before all that is to happen, she knows that it cannot), let alone for anyone to know that she is making it, but somehow, her father finds out anyway. How he learns of it, she does not know--perhaps it is Sidon who tells him--but she brings her work before him when he asks her to, fidgeting with it nervously all the while. 

"Oh, daughter," the king sighs gently when he sees it, unfinished yet still shining and beautiful in her hands. "He will be a fool if he refuses."

Mipha does not say anything, but knows her deep blush likely gives her away. Still, her father does not pry, and she is grateful for that. He has always understood her need for silence, for reticence. It is a need that few others besides perhaps Link have ever understood so well. 

That may be why they got along so swimmingly, when they were young. They are of a kind, she and Link, both quiet and easy and carried by life's simple pleasures; and yet, they are both bound quite thoroughly to their duty, and therefore to Hyrule. Perhaps that is why Mipha allows herself to dream, if only a little, as the days wear on. 

When she learns that Link has been named Zelda's appointed knight, her heart sinks in her chest. 

It was a stupid dream, Mipha tells herself firmly on the road back to the Domain. Better to let it go while there was still time to spare. Better not to entertain foolish, girlish fantasies like the sad, pitiable princesses of old. Better not to pine. 

That night, Mipha locks herself in her rooms and weeps bitterly into the soft pillows on her divan. For the first time, she feels utterly alone. 

"Princess Zelda needs him," she tells her father the next day over breakfast, her voice subdued. "I do not."

Mipha keeps her eyes fixed on her plate to avoid whatever look he gives her. They still itch with the salty memory of last night's tears. She locks her sorrows away in a box beneath her breast (like the armor, which she buries deep at the bottom of a trunk in the far corner of her bedroom), and she does not speak of it again. 

She will not break. She will not bend. She is a princess--a warrior. It is not her way. 

Preparations for the Calamity carry on, as they must. Before, being near Link was a constant joy, a shy fluttering beneath her breastbone that whispered of hope and possibility. Now, his presence is yet another weight that she must bear, painful and heavy--but Mipha is not the only one of their number who is suffering. As the days wear on, nothing seems able to stop Princess Zelda's steady downward spiral. 

"How do you do it, Mipha?" Zelda asks her one day, shortly after her return from the Spring of Courage. The Princess's voice is dull, exhausted, and the shadows under her eyes are the darkest they've ever been. Mipha aches for her. "How do you shoulder a duty without feeling so much pain?"

Mipha considers the Princess in the heavy silence of evening. The courtyard below the balcony is quiet, empty. Around them, the castle is calm and still, all the bustle of the day vanished along with the sun. Link has gone to bed and left them alone. 

"My duty brings me pains of its own, Princess," Mipha tells Zelda when she speaks, simple and a little too honest. "I don't think any one of us is ever truly free." Mipha keeps her eyes fixed on the gardens below, lest Zelda see the truth in Mipha's eyes when she turns and looks at her in clear confusion. 

"But...you are always smiling," Zelda says, obviously frustrated, still unable to understand. "How can you...you always look so _happy_."

Mipha turns to the Princess and smiles at her sadly. "We must find our happiness where we can," she tells her gently, "Despite the hardships. It cannot free us, but... finding joy in small things does help the burden feel a little lighter, for a time."

She smiles kindly, and takes the Princess's hand. Zelda gives her a small, watery smile, and squeezes back tiredly. They sit for a while together and watch the stars glimmering over the courtyard. 

Mipha does not tell the Princess she sacrificed her happiness upon the altar of her birthright long ago. Something makes her think that if she knew the truth, Zelda's already fragile spirit might break. 

Zelda's purpose, her duty, continues to elude her--and there is nothing Mipha can do about that. But she is there for her, despite the painful clenching Link's silent presence causes in her chest, for Mipha understands what it is to bear a burden and to feel alone. 

The day the Calamity comes is like no other. They break, and Mipha rushes to her people, to her place. She prays to the goddess for Link, for the Princess--that somehow, they will both be okay. 

Mipha does not think to pray for herself. 

She meets the accursed Calamity deep in the belly of Ruta. Something in her flares with anger to see it here, corrupting and infecting a creature she considers her friend. She fights with all her ability, all her power, but in the end, it is not enough. Endless strikes are needed to defeat the scourge Ganon sends to her, and though Mipha lands many blows upon its pulsing flesh and heals her wounds tirelessly in between bouts, her enemy needs no rest. Eventually, Mipha's power is exhausted. 

She falters. The Calamity sweeps her aside with one of its grotesque limbs, and drives its glowing mockery of a spear straight through her heart. Its massive blade nearly bisects her entire body. Mipha chokes helplessly on her own blood, her vision failing, and perishes there in the bowels of Vah Ruta. 

...But that is not the end of things. 

Ganon's malice will not allow her peace--not even in death. The demon tangles her spirit up deep inside of her divine beast, trapping her in a never-ending battle against its hateful will. Bruised, crippled, and defeated though she is, Mipha fights: she will not allow this foul creature the satisfaction of breaking her. 

After one hundred years of battle, loneliness, and turmoil, her nightmare is finally ended. Her prayers are finally answered. 

Link comes to her. 

He arrives like a wave, sweeping into in Vah Ruta and striking down her keeper like the graceful storm she remembers. He breaks her chains and frees her from her torment, and then, at last, Mipha looks upon him once again. 

A hundred years have passed since they were parted. A hundred years since she last saw him, yet somehow, her beloved has not aged a day. 

He stands before her, and he is wearing her armor. 

"Hello, Link," Mipha greets him for the final time, her voice thick with emotion. She is a spirit, and so she has no body, but somehow tears still well in her eyes. 

Their final meeting might be bittersweet, but its results are not: in death, Mipha is at last free to do as she likes. A piece of her goes with him, and so she will follow him, stay beside him, and care for him always. Every step of his journey, Mipha will be there, watching over Link and protecting him from the many enemies that dwell in this terrible future. He returns to the Domain after Ruta is freed to greet her father, and Mipha can't help but feel a little embarrassed when she hears Link claim that they're one now. 

Though... she supposes it is true, in a way. 

She watches him, every footstep he takes. Now that she is able, she will not willingly miss a single thing (not even when he dyes her armor red, though it makes her want to bury her face in her hands and hide). It takes her whole heart not to cry out, not to come to him every time he suffers the merest scratch or bruising, but somehow, Mipha bites her tongue, and saves her healing for when he truly needs it most. It would not do to be incapable when his need is dire. 

After many long and difficult trials, Link finally vanquishes the Calamity and frees the Princess. Mipha's heart bursts with pride to see him finish the task. 

As he rides away over the hill with Zelda, both of them hale, healthy, and _alive_ , Mipha stands apart with the others whose time has passed, watching him go. The Princess will have him now, but somehow, Mipha does not feel bitter. 

After all... he was never hers.

**Author's Note:**

> I love Mipha, and I love Mipha's character. At the same time, I think she's the saddest character of any of the Champions--mostly because I think she gave up the most personal happiness for the good of the realm. 
> 
> We see a lot of Zelda raging against her fate in BotW, but not a lot of Mipha's personal angst. Even in the Champions' Ballad DLC, we don't get a ton of insight into how Mipha's sacrifices weighed on her or affected her feelings. Like Link, her suffering is sort of in the background, implicit but unaddressed. It was that murkiness that made me want to write this fic: how much personal strength does it take to see the only thing you've ever wanted, day after day, and to constantly force yourself to walk away? Sure, Mipha's shy, but I think it's clear that there's a lot more than nervousness behind her decision to never confess her feelings to Link. I wanted to explore some of that here. 
> 
> This fic also assumes the reader made a couple of specific choices playing the game--namely, that you chose to tell King Dorephan you and Mipha were united, and that you dyed your wife suit red. Other than that, I tried to leave things pretty open ended to any sort of journey, beyond fighting Waterblight Ganon and freeing Vah Ruta. As far as Link's feelings go, you're free to come to your own conclusions on whether Mipha's love was returned or unrequited here. 
> 
> As always, thank you very much for reading!


End file.
